Making Out
by GamblingDementor
Summary: 30 day OTP challenge: Day twelve, your OTP making out. Bolin is babysitting Varrick and Zhu Li's child when he hears a noise outside the door.


All things considered, Bolin would definitely say he had had a very good night. After Zhu Li had given him a foot long list of instructions and left on her date with Varrick, he had felt more than slightly nervous, but in the end, it hadn't been that hard. Playing with Aricka, making her dinner, making her actually eat (tasting the baby food himself was not on the list, but he did it anyway), playing some more, giving her a bath (thanking whoever it was that gave bending to babies for not making her a waterbender because he really did not feel ready for giving a waterbending baby a bath), reading her a story (she seemed not to understand a word, but her little eyelids became increasingly heavier as he read and she fell asleep very quickly), putting her to bed (it was more like a crib, actually, and he really should have done that before telling the story but he had forgotten), tucking her in, soothing her and telling her another story when she woke up as he was about to leave the room, and finally watching her fall asleep for good. All in all, a pretty successful night.

It was the first time that Bolin had taken care of Aricka all on his own for a whole night. He felt pretty proud of himself. Zhu Li would be happy; she was the one who had been more reticent to leaving her baby with anyone before. Varrick did not care too much because he trusted Bolin so much, which meant a lot.

After Aricka started sleeping, Bolin had been able to spend the rest of the night as he wished. He had thought to listen to a drama on the radio but he had no desire to her up once again. He had decided to make himself something to eat at some point but after four bowls of noodles and a bag of cookies, he was full. Hopefully, Varrick and Zhu Li would not mind coming home to an empty pantry, but he just couldn't keep his hands off such delicious food. Southern Water Tribe noodles really were his favourites. He had read a few pages of one of those serious books Zhu Li kept on the shelves of the living room, but really, it was so boring that he had to put the book down. The only thing left doing was reading Opal's letters.

Not that he hadn't done that before. Since he was working with Varrick here in Republic City and Opal was training younger airbenders in the Western Air Temple, their relationship was still mostly a penship right now. She sent him a letter at least every week, and tried to call him even more often than that, but it was still far too little in their taste. They would have to have a real talk about their future as a couple at some point, but it seemed to Bolin that they were both afraid of what it might mean for them and their love. In any case, he had her letters and they made him very happy already, although sad as well when he thought how he could not hug her nearly as often as he wished.

Opal's letters were short, to the point, but filled with sweetness and love for him. When he read them, he felt a little bit more like home and his heart started swelling and hammering inside his chest. Her handwriting was lovely and neat and perfect compared to his ridiculous scribbles, and he could swear that the paper always smelled a little bit like her.

He was reading her most recent letter about the birth of the first airbender of this new generation when he heard the sound. It was faint at first, so much so that he even wondered how he'd heart it in the first place, but it was definitely there. Was it some sort of spirit? He stood up to check Aricka's room. Nothing there but the sleeping little girl. Good. He walked around the house, hoping it had just been his imagination playing tricks on him, but just as he was about to open up Opal's letter again and keep reading it, he heard the sound again.

It was some kind of tapping, kind of like the sound of a branch just barely hitting a window. But Zhu Li and Varrick did not have trees anywhere near their mansion, so it made no sense. Was it a robber? Or worse, a _ghost_? He was starting to feel slightly anxious now. What would they say if anything odd happened on the first night ever of him babysitting Aricka? He pulled out the two big pebbles he always kept in his pockets nowadays, in case this was a lava-bending needing kind of situation, just to be ready. Listening very hard, he recognized that the sound, which was starting to get louder and louder, was coming from the entrance door. Slowly, cautiously, he tiptoed to the hall and put his ear on the door. Just as he did, the door shook, if just slightly, but enough for him to pull back from the door, feeling very nervous, and turn his rocks to lava just in prevision.

There was someone out there, that was obvious. A robber, an assassin, a kidnapper? He did not know, but did not like it one bit. The door shaking, that was the sound he had heard. Someone was doing something fishy out there and he refused to let them win. When he heard a grunt, he knew that he had to take action. Taking a big breath, he braced himself and opened the door at once in a quick motion. There was a loud cry, a raspy groan and his rocks turned back to stone as they fell to the ground the very moment he saw what was happening.

"SERIOUSLY, GUYS, ARE YOU FOR REAL?!"

There was no robber, assassin or kidnapper. Only Varrick and Zhu Li, currently lying on the doormat after they fell on the floor. Obviously, he had interrupted a session of heavy make-out against the door. Varrick's hands were half-way underneath Zhu Li's skirt already and the top buttons of his shirt were opened. Their hair was incredibly messy and their faces red, though he had no way to know if it was from their embraces, from embarrassment after being caught, or both.

Zhu Li was the first one to react. Coughing awkwardly, she disentangled her limbs from Varrick's and stood up with as much dignity as she seemed to have left under the circumstances. Varrick remained there, lying on the floor, eyes wide open, staring at Bolin from his doormat.

"Hey, Bolin," he said, "I suppose everything went acccording to plan for you tonight, didn't it?"

"It _was _going according to plan until I heard a noise outside, was totally worried, but it turned out to be you guys half-way through having a quickie against the door!"

Varrick stood up all at once, like a puppet whose strings had been pulled, and took Zhu Li by the waist protectively. Still blushing, she did not dare look up to either of them yet.

"Oh, come on, kid, you know how it is to be in love! I'm sure you and Opal totally did_ the thing _tons of times, if you know what I mean…"

"I… We… _We don't make out against doors when other people are inside!_"

Zhu Li took a step towards Bolin and put her hand on his arm soothingly.

"Bolin, we're sorry we got out of hand. We had no intention of making you feel uncomfortable. Or of being caught, really."

"That's kinda too late, isn't it?"

She looked away sheepishly and Varrick's arms circled her from behind in support, his hands resting on her belly, and she turned her head upwards to give him the most tender look of love and sweetness Bolin had ever seen. It made his heart pinch a little when he thought how much he wanted to have Opal look at him like that.

"Look, kid," Varrick said after he and Zhu Li shared a knowing look and she nodded, "Zhu Li and I were celebrating the good news she gave me tonight."

"What good news?"

Varrick was grinning as he hugged Zhu Li closer to him.

"Varrick and I were celebrating the new additions to our family."

Zhu Li's smile was shy and loving as she nestled herself against her husband.

"What, did you kidnap someone?"

"Are you daft?! Zhu Li's pregnant! We're having a baby! Two babies, actually, the healer said it's twins!"

"Wow, that's great news!"

"I know!"

"I hope you'll let me babysit them! Wow, I'm so excited, that's amazing, guys!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're happy for us, yadda, yadda, yadda, now get the hell out of here and let me make love to my wife who's giving me two more beautiful babies!"

"_Varrick_!" Zhu Li cried, shocked, before turning to Bolin. "He shouldn't have been so rash, Bolin, of course you'll be allowed to babysit them. I'm sure they'll love you as much as Aricka does."

She smiled calmly but Bolin could see that she was fidgeting with her foot and wringing her hands.

"You want me gone too, don't you?"

She looked sheepish, at least, like a deercat caught in headlights, but nodded.

"It's nothing against you! It's just that…"

"We have two babies to celebrate! So that's at least twice in a row!"

"Ugh, don't say more. I don't want to know a thing! I'm getting out of here before you guys start being disgusting again."

He was barely out of the doorstep when they slammed the door shut and he heard giggles coming out of the house. He remembered too late that he had forgotten Opal's letters inside, but decided against going looking for them. There was no way he was going back inside tonight.


End file.
